An End Once and For All
by Starlight Sanctuary
Summary: "No...What you offer is a simple light that people will attempt to grasp. That light will die and they will be left with nothing. You offer nothing but false hope. So, I will find another way." "And what will you do, Shepard? The threat is here now," the voice of the hologram sounded challenging. "I will do what I've been doing for years...I will hold the line"


An End Once and For All

"No," her voice was determined.

"There is no, 'no'. You have to make a choice and it is yours alone to make." _this child, this hologram telling me what to do? What should I do? No. I won't do it._ She looks to the three paths in front of her and shakes her head.

"No. I won't do it," she turned around, "There is another way. There is always another way," she smiled, "You believe all is lost in our races, but I believe that you are wrong. You say we can't possibly understand, but I'm here. I'm listening. I understand," she turned and began walking to this thing, this child, hologram, "You wish me to merge life to allow the reapers to continue living. Or I could control them - which isn't possible. The Illusive Man tried and failed. Or I can destroy all synthetic life. I'd kill the reapers… as well as the geth… and EDI," she grabbed the dog tags around her neck, "I've been prepared to die," she released them and made a fist by her side, "I'm still prepared to die. But I will not die for false hope. What you offer is a simple light that people will attempt to grasp. That light will die… and they will be left with nothing. You offer nothing but false hope. So, I will find another way."

"And what will you do, Shepard? The threat is here now," the voice of the hologram sounded challenging.

"I will do what I've been doing for years," a single tear streamed down her face, "I will hold the line." _I'll find my way to you Garrus._ She thought to herself, smiling a little bit, _and you better be waiting for me. You aren't allowed to dye just yet._

"Wait…" the hologram called to her, "There is… one final solution. It is a means to end all of this. I didn't believe any race would ever… reach such resolution,"

"No. I will not have anymore of your senseless games," and with that, she walked away. She stumbled and ground herself on the ground. She had lost so much blood, "What was it all for? I united our entire galaxy, I helped create the crucible, I did… everything I could." she bit her lip, grasping her stomach. She reached for her head set, anything… She called them, "J-joker," her team, "I need you to connect me to an all ship communication," the people she looked up to, "Don't question, just do," and she knew she had failed.

"This is Commander Shepard. I will not sugar coat this for you all. We're not going to make it through the night without some miracle. I will not have you cling to false hope," she paused, thinking of Captain Kirrahe, "'I have come to trust each of you with my life - but I have also heard murmurs of discontent.' Embrace your brother in arms one final time and then take into mind those that have been lost. Remember them… and then remember our goal. Our influence stopped Sovereign, but before that we held the line! Our influence stopped the Collectors, but before that, we held the line! Our influence will stop the Reapers; in the battle today, we will hold the line! And even if we fail, these sentient beings will know that we didn't go down without a fight. That we held the line up until our very last breath! Let us retake our home!" her words rang in the distance. She gritted her teeth. She could already feel her life slipping from her.

It was then, something strange happened. The Reapers withdrew. The Star Child was gone. There was a cease in fire and the atmosphere had suddenly become quiet. It was over.

_It has been 7 years since the war. The galaxy is just now starting to get back on it's feet after so much devastation._

_Tali went back to her home world, finally eloping with Kal'Reegar. They built a little home in the now blossoming village she has been helping to create. They even allowed the geth to coexist with them on the planet. There was a lot of friction at first, but they eventually got along._

_Wrex and Grunt went back to Turchanka and helped to repopulate their world. Wrex is now father to 235 Krogan children, and Grunt, 156._

_Liara continued her studies on Javik up until last year, when she published her final book on the Protheans. It is rumored that she has since bonded with Javik and gone into hiding. Perhaps she has found a way to produce offspring as well._

_Jack visits often. She seems to enjoy hanging around Illium. She is now the head of the Universal Biotics Association, though she doesn't participate much. She sticks to teaching a handful of naturally talented students and a few powerful and unstable students._

_Jacob and his wife settled down in a small colony. He is determined to be the father his father never could be, so he is starting by raising his daughter the right way._

_Ashley, surprisingly enough, started going out with James. According to news from Diana, they're expecting. She hasn't visited in a while, so I assume she is busy with a child… or perhaps just running away from media. She never did like the cameras._

_Samara left the Justicars. How, I don't know. She now takes care of the few remaining Ardat-Yakshi. She is trying to mother them in a way she could have never mothered her own children._

_Miranda was finally able to conceive with the help of one of Liara's inventions. She hasn't visited in a while either, but from what I've heard, she's finally stopped living in the shadows. She's spending more time with her sister, and that is all that matters to her._

_Kasumi is still off the grid, doing the thing she loves most._

_Where is Zaeed? That's a good question. I hear he went off to put the Blue Suns back in order. I don't know how long he'll keep that up, he's getting old!_

_As for Thane and Mordin? Their memories were never forgotten. Thane now has a few special training schools named after him, namely the Krios Academy. And Mordin, oh Mordin. He has a statue on Illium with the words, "He was the very model of a scientist salarian" written in gold across the base._

_EDI and Joker have a complicated relationship at the moment, but none the less, they are together, trying to make it work._

_As for Garrus, well, he was the one to bring my body back from the ruins of the citadel. Now we live in Illium, he's on specter duty while I'm stuck at home with the children we've adopted. They're sweet, little nuisances, but they'll grow to be hard-asses just like their parents. It feels odd, but it isn't like I don't get to pick up my beloved sniper every once in a while._

_I still wonder what happened that night. Why did the Reapers withdraw? Where did they go? Well, I suppose it doesn't help when you are diagnosed with a mild case of post traumatic stress disorder. Nothing major._

_So long as they don't return, not in my lifetime, not in my children's lifetime, I'll be happy. Perhaps a more advanced generation will be able to handle it without need of miracles. Maybe. But in my eyes, right now, it is finally an end _once and for all.

* * *

Starlight Sanctuary: I was up today, writing Preordained while listening to An End Once and For All, when this suddenly popped in my head. And after hours of it nagging at me in the back of my head, I've written it. It isn't that good, but it is what would've made me content when I was awake at 3 in the morning finishing the game for the first time. Hope you enjoyed it! And as for my preordained readers, I will be posting the next chapter tomorrow or the day after. I'll explain my slowness when I post. :3 R&R!


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